Pretty much everybody does. He is smart and funny and self-deprecating and world aware and not unlike his new boss, Masai Ujiri, he’s interested in more than just basketball.

He can shoot better than most Raptors can shoot. And he can pass better than most Raptors can pass. And even slowing at the age of 34, he probably can play defence better than anybody on the Raptors not named Kawhi Leonard, which is not all surprising considering Leonard and Gasol have a history along with having won the defensive player of the year in the NBA three of the past five seasons.

Know this much about Gasol. He didn’t want to be traded here, he didn’t want to be traded anywhere. He has been a Memphis lifer. When he first got to the southern city the only English he knew was: “I’m Marc, I like basketball.”

Didn’t matter what he was asked that was the answer. What would you like for dinner? I’m Marc. Anything to declare? I’m Marc. Over time, he learned the language and the game and life in the NBA, and he grew into himself, into an all-star and a difference maker and a man of substance, and now, after a shockingly active and competitive trade deadline, he is a Raptor.

Last summer, Leonard. Now Gasol. A centre to play alongside Leonard, and alongside Pascal Siakam, alongside or in rotation with Serge Ibaka. The Raptors have never had four front court players of this kind of quality before. And as Milwaukee added Nikola Mirotic and Philadelphia added Tobias Harris and the Celtics added nothing of importance, the Raptors stepped up large and dealt for Gasol — and now it’s up to coach Nick Nurse to figure out exactly where and how all the pieces fit.

For Gasol, the ending in Memphis wasn’t easy but it sure was emotional. On Tuesday night, he dressed for a game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and then he undressed and didn’t play. The Grizzlies had pulled him from the game, thinking they were about to trade him to Charlotte. But partway through the first half, Gasol got in his uniform, walked to the bench and it was then the applause began. And it got louder and louder at the FedEx Forum. Gasol, taking it all in, took his clenched fist and pounded it by his heart, pulled his uniform top just a little — his way of saying thanks, a loud, emotional ending and a thank you. Thanks for everything.

A night Gasol will never forget. He didn’t stick around until the end of the game. In the second half, he got in his car and drove home, waiting to be told what was next.

“You’re at home, you’re sitting at home, and, before the game you kind of go through the whole mind preparation, you go through the whole process and the drive in,” Gasol told Memphis columnist, Geoff Calkins. “Then you kind of smile a little bit, too, because, you’re like, `Wow, could be it, maybe not, but it’s been one helluva ride.’ ”

The ride changes now. The Grizzlies have been good but never great in Gasol’s time in Memphis. Once they made it as far as the Western Conference Finals only to lose to Kawhi and San Antonio. The battles in those games, between Gasol and Leonard, are considered epic. They would fight the way Raptors teams of the past would not fight in playoff games. Now they have a fighter in Gasol, a fighter in Leonard for this one shot — and who knows, maybe more than one — at an NBA title. Everything with the Raptors begins and ends with Leonard and the future. But the now, the now with Leonard and Gasol, the now with Ibaka and Kyle Lowry and Siakam, there is so much to be enticed about, so much to be excited for.

In fairness to Gasol, those who have watched him most often recently believe he has lost a step. Most do at 34. But he can still shoot, and he still pass and he’s incredibly smart on the court, that if he can’t play defence like an all-star the offensive skills remain.

Gasol loves the game and purity when its played at its best. The passing game. The unselfish game. The game that Spain plays internationally and that he was so enjoyed playing for his country with former Raptor Jose Calderon. That’s his passion when he isn’t driving in boats in the Mediterranean in the summer, searching the water for refugees, the way he did last summer.

Masai spend his summers running basketball camps and raising money and changing lives and perceptions in Africa while still running the Raptors. Gasol spent last summer trying to rescue refugees in the Mediterranean Sea. “If you want to be able to tell a story to other people and to bring more awareness to the issue, you have to go through it,” he told Gene Wojciechowski of ESPN.

He went through it. Now his basketball journey in a new country with a new team begins. Ujiri went big at the deadline and came away with Gasol. A Raptors season of stunning expectations just got one centre deeper.

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